Businesses fear cyber espionage through APT

Cyber-espionage through advanced persistent threats has become the biggest nightmare for IT security decision makers in the UK.

Shares

Cyber-espionage through advanced persistent threats (APT) has become the biggest nightmare for IT security decision makers in the UK, Bitdefender has announced this Wednesday.

According to its report, 49 per cent of IT security decision makers said their organisations could ‘definitely’ be a target. Another 47 per cent says their organisations could ‘possibly’ be a target.

There’s just a small minority (4 per cent) that’s not really concerned about APTs.

Most ITDMs say it would take them a few weeks, maybe even a month, to detect an ATP. A third said they would take a year.

“Cyberattacks can go undetected for months and, in most cases, breaches stem from zero-days and kernel-level malware,” Bitdefender’s Senior eThreat Analyst Liviu Arsene says. “This is precisely what APTs turn to, because it keeps them from being detected. Kernel exploits and rootkits can evade traditional endpoint security solutions to gain full control over the operating system.”

The biggest consequence, for the largest number of IT security decision makers is the damage to their company’s reputation, followed by financial costs, bankruptcy, war or cyber conflicts and the loss of life.

They mostly fear losing information about their customers, financial information, intellectual property, research on new products and information about certain employees. Product info and specifications, and research about competition has also made the list.